Implement



(No Model.)

I. B. BEEKLY. PRUNING IMPLEMENT.

No. 499,701. Patented June 20, 1893.

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Wifgzsszs one of the numerous modes of constructing the ISRAEL B. BEEKLY, OF CARLETON, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN H. GAREY, OF SAME PLACE.

PRUNING IMPLEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,701, dated June 20, 1893.

Application filed January 21, 1893.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ISRAEL B. BEEKLY,a citizen of the United States, residing at Carleton, in the county of Thayer and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Prunlug Implement, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in pruning-implements; the objects in view being to produce an implement of this class so constructed as to be operated with facility upon large branches as well as small, and in close foliage as well as sparse; and to avoid in its make-up or construction the use of pivotpins, and loose joints that are always liable to become useless from wear.

\Vith these general objects in View the invention consists in certain features of construction hereinafter specified and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings:Figure 1 is a perspective View of a pruning implement embodying my invention, the same being shown in the act of severing a branch or limb from a tree. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the device.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in both the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a preferably cylindrical rod, though the same may be of any shape in crosssection desired, and is preferably formed of wood though metal may be employed, as will be obvious. The rod has its lower end fitted into the tapered socket 2 of an ordinary chisel 3, and above said socket at a suitable point upon the rod there is located a shoulder or stop. In this instance the said shoulder or stop consists of opposite clamping sections 4 formed of metal and provided upon their inner sides with semicircular grooves for receiving the rod and upon their external sides at their upper ends they are enlarged to form abutting. faces 5. These clamping-sections are secured in position by means of rivets 6 passed therethrough and through the rod. If desired the stop maybe formed integralwith the rod where the rod is formed of metal or may be constructed in any suitable way, this being merely Serial No. 459,170. (No model.

same that have presented themselves to my mind.

7 designates a casting, and the same is provided with a tapered bore 8, the same being contracted or reduced toward its lower end and having its smallest diameter greater than the rod 1 upon which it is mounted and adapted to loosely slide. The lower end of the casting 7 is externally increased, thereby forming an abutting head or face 9. At one side of the bore 8 the casting 7 is provided with an offset 10 and the same has a socket 12 for the reception of a handle 13, which may be secured in position within the socket through the medium of a screw 14, orother means may be employed. This completes the construction of the device, 6 and it will be seen that numerous changes in the details thereof may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The bumper-casting may be given any desired shape and may be mounted upon the rod in any desired way, the only essentiality being that the bumper be capable of sliding or reciprocating upon the rod and of being brought into contact with the stop thereon.

In operation one hand of the operator is employed to grasp the rod While the other hand grasps the handle 13. The chisel-point is placed against the limb which it is desired to remove and the handle is then lowered carrying with it the bumper-casting and is then suddenly elevated so thatthe head 9 of the bumper-casting is suddenly brought into contact with the head 5 of the stop, and thus the chisel is driven or forced through the limb. At each impact of the plunger or bumper against the shoulder it will be observed that the chisel is forced either entirely or partially through the branch or limb in accordance with the thickness of the branch or limb and the force of the blow.

A device constructed in accordance with this description, it will be seen, avoids in its make-up all loose or pivotal joints or other devices that can in any way become loose by reason of the device; and furthermore it will 5 be seen that such a constructed device is adapted to operate in very thick foliage or where the limbs are close together or matted,

and where it would be next to impossible to operate the ordinary construction of pruning device, that is, one in which the members are pivotally connected and shear one upon the other. 7

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination with a rod, a chisel at the lower end thereof, and the stop located above the chisel on the rod, of a bored bumpercasting mounted loosely upon the rod and provided at one side with a socket, and a handle secured within the socket, substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the rod terminating at one end in a chisel, and the opposite ISRAEL B. BEEKLY.

W itnesses:

' H. M. LICHTY, E. E. LICHTY. 

